Consumer Products

Appliances and Home Products

Home Products

Overview

Benefits of Certification

Protocols

Why Work With NSF?

Certification Process

Consumers are increasingly concerned about product quality and safety, and regulatory compliance has become more complex. Retailers and vendors need confidence that the consumer products they sell meet regulatory requirements and represent their company’s high quality standards. NSF’s Home Product Certification Program™ provides that assurance, offering a simplified solution to ensure only quality products make it to store shelves.

The NSF Home Product Certification Program builds on NSF’s expertise in national standards and protocol development, testing and certification to help ensure the safety and quality of consumer products and home appliances.

Benefits of Certification

The NSF Home Product Certification Program is based on peer-reviewed, scientifically tested, transparent testing protocols for ensuring product quality, performance, material safety and appropriate labeling.

Products certified in this program bear the trusted NSF certification mark, a symbol to show products have been independently tested and evaluated against a rigorous set of quality and material safety requirements. NSF certification can eliminate the need for further retail testing, bringing products to market sooner and allowing retailers to focus on product design and innovation.

Protocols

Protocols used in the NSF Home Product Certification Program were developed by our public health experts with input from key industry stakeholders including retailers, manufacturers, industry associations and regulatory agencies.

The protocols encompass all mandatory regulatory requirements (U.S./Canada/Mexico/EU) for material safety and labeling, and refer to industry accepted standards for verifying product performance and quality. In addition, we develop and incorporate innovative and transparent test methods for verifying product life cycle, durability and functionality. To ensure material safety, the protocols specify analytical tests for confirming the absence of harmful substances (heavy metals, phthalates, bisphenol-A) in products coming into contact with food.

Current NSF Home Product Certification Program protocols include:

NSF Protocol P386

Food storage containers

NSF Protocol P387

Coffee makers

NSF Protocol P388

Blenders

NSF Protocol P389

Slow cookers and rice makers

NSF Protocol P390

Stovetop cookware

NSF Protocol P392

Tableware

NSF Protocol P393

Oven bakeware

NSF Protocol P395

Personal beverage containers

NSF Protocol P396

Servingware

NSF Protocol P399

Flatware and cutlery

NSF Protocol P400

Food contact utensils

NSF Protocol P402

Vacuum sealers and bags

NSF Protocol P403

Corded home textiles

NSF Protocol P406

Clothes irons and steamers

NSF Protocol P408

Barware and accessories

NSF Protocol P407

Fans

NSF Protocol P412

Heaters

Why Work With NSF?

The NSF Home Product Certification Program builds on our unparalleled expertise in national standards and protocol development, testing and certification. We developed the first standards for commercial foodservice equipment in 1944 and have since developed more than 75 American National Standards for a wide range of commercial and consumer products.

Our transparency in testing and test methodologies is unique. Other test labs simply test and report, but our testing process is dynamic, with valuable technical feedback that helps improve your product’s design and speeds time to market.

Once certification is granted, your company can use the NSF Certified for Home Use™ mark on packaging and in promotions. The mark tells consumers that the product has been independently tested and certified in one of world’s leading laboratories by health and safety experts.

Certification Process

NSF certifies products in just five simple steps, led by a single point of contact with the technical expertise and dedication to expedite the process.

Step 1: Application — Your company submits an application for certification and receives a quotation based on factors including number of SKUs, special claims and production location.

Step 3: Product Evaluation and Testing — Our engineers evaluate the product against protocol criteria to ensure it performs safely and reliably under normal use conditions. Food contact products are tested to verify absence of harmful chemical contaminants, including heavy metals, BPA and phthalates. Product labeling and claims are validated to ensure no false marketing claims are made.

Step 4: Certification Granted — Once the product evaluation is successfully completed and all criteria are met, your certification is granted and your product information is included in the online NSF product listings.

Step 5: Manufacturing Facility Audit — Following certification, an NSF auditor visits the production facility to confirm that all components of finished products are the same as those tested in our laboratories. This provides assurance of an effective, ongoing quality system.

NSF’s Home Product Certification Program was designed for consumer products that undergo retail testing, and the NSF protocol requirements focus on quality concerns and regulations specific to the consumer goods market. The Home Product Certification Program is based on, but separate from, the NSF Commercial Food Equipment Program which validates the cleanability, material safety, temperature performance and other critical characteristics of food equipment used in restaurants, supermarkets, cafeterias, schools and other food service establishments. Commercial foodservice equipment certified to NSF/ANSI standards satisfies requirements in the FDA Food Code. Certified home products are tested for product quality, performance and food contact material regulations.

The NSF mark is well recognized by leading retailers as a symbol of safety and quality. When retail buyers and QA staff see the NSF HPC mark, backed by rigorous testing and a production facility check, it stands out. Retailers including Costco accept NSF HPC certification in lieu of repetitive QA testing for some products – saving their vendors time and money. Vendors of certified products also find adding SKUs, updating products or expanding series is simple and cost efficient, without redundant testing.

The NSF Certified for Home Use mark on Costco’s Kirkland Signature cookware products provides added assurance to consumers that our products are made with safe materials, won’t leach harmful contaminants into the food and perform as advertised.Jim Klauer, Costco Wholesale